Bowling Tournament Venues Downsized

source: Trip Advisor
Grand Sierra Bowling Center
Reno, Nevada

It started in with the Hawaiian Tournament in Las Vegas. Usually held at the Orleans with 72 lanes, it was moved to Gold Coast Bowling Center. No real change, as Gold Coast has 70 lanes.

Since the Orleans renovation, the number of lanes has gone down from 72 to 52. Not yet official, the venue for future Hawaiian Classic tournaments will likely move permanently to Gold Coast.

This year's Asian tournaments in Reno, the Reno Asian (July) and Labor Day (September) will move to Grand Sierra due to renovations at National Bowling Stadium.

National Bowing Stadium has 78 lanes. Grand Sierra, 50.

For frame of reference, a few other well-known bowling centers in the United States:

• Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Michigan. 90 lanes. Site of last week's World Series of Bowling, 90 lanes. Largest in the United States.
• South Point, Las Vegas, Nevada. 64 lanes. Where I bowled Women's Nationals in 2016 and former PBA World Series of Bowling venue, 32 lanes on 2 sides.
• Red Rock Lanes, Las Vegas, Nevada. 72 lanes. Site of numerous PBA events and a popular destination for tournament bowlers.

Compared to where I regularly bowl Sunday practice and Wednesday night league:

• Classic Bowl, Daly City, California, 60 lanes.

The largest bowling center in the world is 116 lanes, Inazawa Grand Bowl in Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

source: pinterest, bowlingdigital.com
Inazawa Grand Bowl

Save Cloverleaf Bowl - SIGN THE PETITION!

From Patricia Brown who posted the petition at change.org:
As of this writing, the petition has received over 8,000 signatures.

A developer is proposing to tear down the buildings in the old Fremont Center at the corner of Fremont Boulevard and Grimmer Boulevard in Irvington and replace them with 272 housing units.

The Cloverleaf Family Bowl, which has greeted generations of bowlers for 55 years, is one of the buildings that would be demolished.

The proposed project site extends from Fremont Boulevard west to Bay Street, and from Grimmer Boulevard south. It includes the Bank of America and the businesses south of that along Fremont. All commercial buildings on the site are proposed to be demolished except the Taco Bell drive-in restaurant.

Mike Hillman says: This is wrong on so many levels. If Cloverleaf Family Bowl has given you memories and happiness then I ask you to please write to the email in the article. My family has been in this business and location for over 55 years now. The last thing Fremont needs is more residential and eliminate one main source of family entertainment. Nobody does more for the kids and families than Cloverleaf Family Bowl. Our seniors included.

The parent company of Taco Bell discovered the center had been devalued by the loss of tenants (with the previous landlord) so they purchased the shopping center. Then one day we get a call and find out that developers are interested in purchasing the shopping center and that it is under contract. Then earlier this week, an article in the Tri City Voice was published and this was a bit of a shock to all of us that things had progressed to this point. And to read that EVERYTHING will be demolished here EXCEPT Taco Bell. 

A day may come where we will need to go to city council meetings. I would hope that we could count on a lot of people to support us and attend the meeting and show these people how much we mean to the city and the families that live here or bowl here. My family has been here for 55+ years in this business. I have been inside this building almost every day of my life. We are not giving up! 

Mel's Bowl/Redwood Lanes closed on May 8, 2011 to make way for condominiums (see April 11, 2011 blog entry). We can't lose any more bowling centers, especially Cloverleaf.

AT&T Park - The Gotham Club

image source: The Gotham Club, San Francisco

Introduction at the website's home page:  If you have ever played for the New York Gothams, New York Giants, or San Francisco Giants, you are a member. If you have never played for the Gothams or Giants, this is your opportunity to join.

Club venues: The Clubhouse, The Bullpen, and The Game Room. As a bowler and avid San Francisco Giants fan, this would be my ultimate gift of a lifetime.

However, I can only wish. Membership is invitation only with a $2,500 initiation fee with $1,250 annual dues.

Oh well.

Retro Masking Units - Bowling

image source: Bel Mateo Bowl

The above picture was taken from Bel Mateo Lanes, where I bowl Monday nights. Pretty much a typical looking bowling alley. The below picture is taken from an unknown center in Japan, where it features vintage masking units (AMF inverted triangles).

image source: The Streamlane Project

Until last night, I completely forgot about retro masking units. It all came back when I watched on YouTube the 2013 Fusion Realtors Open in Waterloo, Iowa. InsideBowling.com's Mike Flanagan pointed it out during the match.

So, what did Mike say to prompt the walk back to "Memory" Lanes? The masking units light up dots with pin numbers to indicate remaining pins on the rack after the first ball is bowled. When masking units were in their heyday, this was an extremely important feature for bowlers, especially for keeping score. I've included a video from the Fusion Realtors tournament for those of you who want to see the masking units in action.

In doing my due diligence for this entry, I came across Toby Schwartzman's blog, The Streamlane Project.  As described from his About page, "Toby Schwartzman is a former head mechanic of the Moose Exchange Bowling Alley in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania and an active member of the online community of mechanics who share materials and information relating to antique bowling apparatus. Early in 2012 he acquired three rare AMF masking units in dire need of restoration. The purpose of this blog is to document the progress of the restoration and to offer advice, resources and inspiration for similar projects."

A project that is truly a labor of love. Best of luck to you, Toby. His blog's last entry was in December 2012. Hope to see updates soon.

All Split Up

Anyone who's ever bowled has probably seen this diagram on a score terminal or somewhere on the lanes. If a strike hasn't been bowled, the remaining pin(s) is referred to by number, such as the 7-10 split seen here:

image source: Augusta Chronicle

Just as nasty and undesirable is what's called the Big 4 (4-6-7-10 split)

Here is an example of a split with a great name, the Greek Church (4-6-7-8-10 shown below, or 4-6-7-9-10 split):

And, the Sour Apple (5-7-10 split), while not seen often, looks like this :

Of these splits, I once converted the Greek Church 3 1/2 years ago in summer league. Baby splits, such as the 3-10 and 2-7 are much more common and not as difficult to convert.

Last night, a league bowler told me he'd rather get a gutter ball than get the 2-4-10 split I bowled. For me, while I hate splits, I hate gutter balls even more. I'd rather take on the challenge to pick it up. In most cases, I won't be successful, but sometimes I am. At least I gave it a shot.

Tony Reyes Fundraiser - Sunday, October 14, Bel Mateo Bowl

source: Bel Mateo Bowl

As I shared on my Facebook page, if there any San Francisco Bay Area bowlers that are interested, Bel Mateo Bowl is hosting a fundraiser for the Reyes family on Sunday, October 14 at 6 p.m. Check-in time is 5:30 p.m.

Tony and co-owner Lindsey Wong operate a pro shop inside 4th Street Bowl in San Jose. I found out tonight Tony was very much involved in youth bowling. This is not a USBC event, so non-league bowlers are welcome to participate. The fundraiser is limited to the first 90 bowlers and spots are filling up quickly. 

If you are unable to attend, but want to donate, please make your check payable to the Tony Reyes Memorial Fund and mail it to: 

4th Street Bowl
1441 North 4th Street
San Jose, CA 95112

or:
Bel Mateo Bowl

attn: Craig Gabriel

4330 Olympic Ave.

San Mateo, CA 94403

My Monday night league teammates and I will be there to bowl. Hope you can help and/or see you there.

UPDATE - October 8, 2012 - As of tonight, there are still about 40 slots still available for Sunday's fundraiser at Bel Mateo Bowl. This is a great excuse for those of you in the area and/or haven't bowled in awhile to come out for a worthy cause.

Mission Bowling Club

Inside Scoop SF » Let’s talk about Anthony Myint’s full service dining program at Mission Bowling Club

Officially announced today, Mission Bowling Club will open on Monday, March 19 at 3176 17th Street (near South Van Ness).  Its primary focus is a restaurant/bar/nightclub with bowling as a theme. There will be 6 bowling lanes, of which 3 can be reserved.

I wish Mission Bowling Club and Lucky Strike well.  You'll bring in a lot of folks who'll want to eat, bowl and unlike me, won't care about the score.  If I do come, it'll be only as a customer. I'll leave my bowling balls and shoes at home for league nights and practice.

photo courtesy of sfist.com

Coming soon...new Brentwood Bowl

Yes, the photo says it all.  I can finally talk about a new bowling center opening rather than closing on the San Francisco Peninsula. Brentwood Bowl will be opening a new center across the street from their current El Camino Real location, the former Century Plaza theater in South San Francisco.  I got the news last week from bowling pal Jon when I ran into him at Classic Bowl.  After my other bowling buddy Rich put up a picture of this sign on his Facebook page last night, I had to drive out and see this for myself.

I've been told the new Brentwood won't open for about another year.  When it does, there are two huge pluses: 1. 40 lanes, (24 lanes more than what they now have), and,  2.  the theater's HUGE PARKING LOT.  In very close vicinity are many family restaurants (Red Robin, Pasta Pomodoro, Fresh Choice), Tanforan Center and Mall, BART San Bruno, Highway 380/280 and San Francisco International Airport.

I bowled in a summer league at Brentwood 3 years ago. I stopped bowling there because of the difficulty to find parking and the lack of suitable leagues at my playing level.  Once the new Brentwood opens, it's likely many bowlers from Serra and Classic will also bowl here, including me.

While this doesn't diminish last week's bad news about Serra's closing on April 15, knowing new lanes will open cushions the sting.  A lot.

I'm back / The end of Mel's Bowl (Redwood Lanes)

It's been another long, long gap between blog entries.  After my last entry in October 2010 AND the San Francisco Giants becoming World Champions (woo hoo!), Jeff and I had a lot going on.  A new baseball season has started as well as learning one of my favorite hangouts will be closing.

Last Sunday, I bowled at Mel's (Redwood Lanes) Bowl in Redwood City for the first time in several months.  I took advantage of an AMF coupon of $1.49 games.  It was evident I hadn't bowled there in awhile as I had practice games ranging in scores from 117 to 203.  Mike, one of the general managers at Mel's came over about halfway into my visit to tell me Mel's will officially close May 8. 

The closing didn't come as a surprise to me.  Rumors had been circulating for several years that condos would replace the lanes.  My Monday night league at Bel Mateo already have 14 additional teams signed up for league this coming fall.  Most of them are bowlers from Mel's.  I know overall league bowling has been in decline for several years, mostly because lanes shifted their focus to attract casual bowlers to help increase revenue.  Personally, I find many casual bowlers to be a nuisance (see July 14, 2010's blog entry on Bowling Lane Courtesy).

While it'll be fun to have a bunch of new/returning bowlers this coming fall, the closing of Mel's still saddens me for these reasons:  1)  Mel's was the place that started my bowling obsession (work league).  A 12-lb. house ball with scores of 129 and 132.  I bought my own ball and shoes 2 days later.  2)  I could almost always get a pair of lanes and practice without much interruption or distraction.  3)  Discounts and specials given out all the time.  Every time I paid for my games I always got more coupons for future visits.

The good news is that 2 new bowling alleys are slated to open in San Francisco sometime next year as venues geared toward entertainment.  The bad news is that it won't do much to attract folks to pursue bowling as a sport.

Bowling lane courtesy

OK, OK, setting aside modesty for a "split" second, I know this image doesn't exactly match the title of this blog entry. Last week, I bowled my 3rd 200+ game this year and I just had to include the picture.

Anyway, as an avid bowler for the past 2 years, the majority of my bowling is not league, but open/practice bowling. When I first learned to bowl at Holiday and Main Lanes back home in Columbus, one of the first lessons given to me was exercising lane courtesy.

What is lane courtesy? Plain and simple, do not disturb the bowler in the lane next to you when he or she is about to bowl. In years past, the lanes had signs posted all over the place explaining this. And if you didn't read the sign and did disturb the bowler next to you, a staff member had no qualms reading you the riot act for your lack of courtesy.

These days, there are no signs and most staff members are out fetching balls out of gutters, putting up or taking down lane bumpers, or fetching food and drink for large group parties.

I know I'm starting to sound old, but I also think lack of courtesy on the lanes is an extension of our hurried, self-absorbed lives. I often find myself coughing up a few more bucks to bowl where it isn't crowded, or to ask for lanes away from the masses, which we've been successful in doing.